Gotham.
Hardy's new identity was named Fresh Water.
Translated, it means "Hardy" as well.
A local Gothamite, twenty-five years old. Orphaned at a young age, but an excellent student, he received a charitable scholarship from the Cobblepot family to attend university.
At eighteen, he went to Central City for further studies, completed a combined bachelor's and master's program, and holds a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Central City University. His academic records are verifiable, and his official mentor, Harrison Wells, just happened to pass away two months ago. As long as the paperwork matches up on Central City's end, it would be very difficult to uncover any inconsistencies.
"Harrison Wells?"
Hardy frowned and searched the name on his computer.
Harrison Wells, Ph.D. from Star City University, later a professor at Central City University, founder of S.T.A.R. Labs, high-energy physicist, creator of the next-generation particle accelerator. He was paralyzed from the waist down in an experimental accident a year ago, and died two months ago in another lab accident.
Hiss...
Why did Penguin arrange for him to have such a mentor?
If he remembered correctly, wasn't this guy actually Reverse-Flash?
Fortunately, he was already dead. Even if there were residual timeline fluctuations in the future, they'd probably focus on the Flash, not on him.
Besides, whatever happened in Central City shouldn't affect Gotham.
For now, he'd just focus on making puppets.
After a period of study, and with his foundation in puppet techniques from the Naruto world, Hardy felt he was ready to start making puppets himself.
After all, knowledge is something you just keep accumulating, and the further you go, the harder it gets. Now that his skills could guarantee his puppets would surpass his previous work, it was time to get started.
Another reason was that things had been a bit unstable in the neighborhood lately.
This wasn't a wealthy, well-policed area—just an ordinary residential district. Not quite a slum, but not far from one either.
Just yesterday, two gangs had a shootout on the next street over, and a stray bullet even hit his window.
Thanks to his system panel, designing new puppets was actually the easiest part.
The tungsten alloy and aluminum alloy plates for the skeleton and main body had been delivered to his home yesterday.
In the corner of his room stood an integrated machine tool, combining a milling machine, drill press, bending machine, and more.
It wasn't one of those high-end machines worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, since Hardy didn't need such precision at the moment.
Besides, puppet masters have their own ways of getting things done.
With tools, materials, designs, and skills all in place, it was time to get to work.
First, he cut the alloy plates, then used the bending machine for rough shaping. After that, he used the drill press and milling machine for drilling and fine processing, ensuring every part could be precisely assembled and connected.
Hard but dense tungsten alloy served as the skeleton, lightweight aluminum alloy as the main body. Other components were connected with gold and copper wires for optimal energy conduction. Sensors, cameras, miniature radar, and other electronic parts connected to a microcontroller were arranged according to the system's layout.
These gadgets weren't for fighting, but for support. Even if the electronics were jammed, Hardy could still control the puppet with chakra threads and fight effectively.
Ultimately, he wasn't trying to build a high-tech Iron Man suit, but rather to combine civilian-level technology with his own puppet techniques to create combat power. For now, there was no need for especially advanced tech.
After completing the internal structures, the ceramic composite shell and high-strength stainless steel are attached to the exterior using a resin adhesive, serving as the puppet's external protective armor. Finally, argon arc welding is used to seal everything together, thus basically completing the main body of the puppet.
It's worth mentioning that the puppet's arms are equipped with a chakra-powered pneumatic system.
By manipulating chakra threads, pneumatic pistons are driven to compress and store air within cylinders.
When needed, simply activating the chakra threads can start the air pump.
With the boost from the pneumatic system combined with the puppet's own performance, the power of a single punch is truly astonishing.
Moreover, since it's operated via chakra threads, Hardy himself can control the system to a certain extent, ensuring adequate safety.
Finally, there's the weaponry.
Hardy made some modifications to the Harding revolver and the PMX submachine gun he had acquired.
The submachine gun is mounted on the puppet's right arm, with the muzzle facing forward. The original magazine has been removed and replaced with a high-capacity ammunition belt connected to the inside of the right arm, increasing the ammo capacity from 30 rounds to 150.
The Harding revolver is positioned on the shoulder and can automatically deploy when needed. It can rotate 360 degrees horizontally, boasts tremendous bullet kinetic energy, and its magazine capacity has been expanded several times, making it almost a miniature Gatling gun.
Hardy spent an entire week in his workshop, even ordering takeout for meals, before finally completing the puppet.
"Black Secret Technique: Single Machine Manipulation."
Ten chakra threads shot out from Hardy's hands, connecting to the puppet's components and assembling them.
The powerful clang and scrape of metal echoed through the room, and within seconds, a tall and imposing metal puppet stood assembled.
Its black, metallic paint gleamed on muscular steel limbs, exuding a sense of power. At about two meters tall, it would force most people to look up at it.
Hardy had great confidence in the puppet's power.
[Puppet Name]: Unnamed
[Overall Specifications]:
Height: 2.01 meters
Weight: 188 kilograms
Materials: Industrial alloy, ceramic composite fiber, silver, copper, etc.
Power Source: None
Control Method: Chakra threads
[Puppet Rating]: B- (B)
[Overall Evaluation]: Armored combat puppet. A preliminary fusion of puppet techniques and modern engineering, with excellent performance, formidable close-combat destructive power, and a certain degree of ranged attack capability. When combined with the puppeteer, combat effectiveness can be further enhanced.
Hardy manipulated the puppet to perform a few simple movements in the workshop. Finding it not too strenuous, he pulled the chakra threads again, causing the puppet to disassemble and the components to fly over and attach to his own body.
"The smell of machine oil is a bit strong. I might consider adding an air circulation system later. The field of vision isn't significantly affected, but I could also design a dual-layer face shield—one with bulletproof glass for normal use, and another sliding display projection to show the view from behind."
Clenching his fists and flexing his hands, Hardy began walking around the workshop in his newly donned Black Gold armor.